Socialism System In The United States
It would be great if we could have a system of organizing our society where basic needs could be divided for the people at little to no cost. This system has a name, socialism. The mantra which follows it is “From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution. ” which means that everyone receives a share depending on how much they have contributed. In other countries, socialism has the love of the people in others not so much. Without giving much thought towards socialism many in the United States disregard some of the positive outcomes that come with implementing some of its many aspects into our society such as social safety nets along with giving our people low cost or free healthcare. In the United States, the older generations seem to dislike the idea of our country having anything to do with socialism due to its close association with communism.
All Communist parties began in 1921 stemming from socialist parties. The split was due to figure out how to carry out the socialist agenda which was to transform the economy and make life better for the people as a whole. Both parties agreed that in order to change the economy the state had to be taken over. The party which later became known as the communist was the revolutionists who wanted to take over the state by physically taking away power from those who did not deserve it as done previously during the French Revolution. The other party continued to be the socialist parties who sought out the votes of the people and created political parties.
The Russian revolution was caused by the dissatisfaction with World War 1, while the state was weak, Lenin a leader of a new socialist movement decided that was the opportunity to take over the state. Being in charge Lenin replaced the private industrial corporations with the government. The state then got production going again workers were told to go and work as their “patriotic duty to socialism” so the economy could be back up and running. Of course, this was not socialism this was merely the beginning to eventually reach the socialistic idealism. To create socialism the parties needed to be captured the state in order to have the power to change the country.
What Russia had done caused people to believe socialism had something to do with the government when in reality it just had to do with taking power over the state using the government in order to facilitate the change. Socialism is supposed to transform the economy to make life better for the people as a whole not take over every aspect of the lives of their people. Linen already saw the people had gone through enough after the revolution and realizing the people's morale would be broken when told that what they had done was only a small step towards achieving true socialism instead he declared what they had done was socialism. People began to think that socialism the leads to or is associated with the communism due to the Soviet Union being created to try to recreate the idea of it. The Soviet Union along with the fear of the cold war sparked an immense dislike within the socialist and communist party. The first red scare in 1917-1920 ignited the fear but what truly finished it off was the second red scare from the late 1940s through the 1950’s. The elder generation is the one that truly fears socialism and its association with communism. They were fully aware of what was going on during those times while millennials were young children and unaware of the fear that was brought upon by the cold war.
Although many elder Americans fear socialism because of its connection to communism in the past many have not tried to learn what it can truly do. It gives all citizens access to free healthcare and education. People will be able to obtain the medical care they need and many will be able to continue and finish their schooling without worry about the cost. Socialism results in a classless society no more upper or lower class. Different opportunities are given to people indifferent to their gender, race, age or previous social class. One of the biggest pros is that it allows a balance in society when it comes to wealth and a person's earnings. With the government owning many of the utility and housing companies people will have access to basic necessities for a cost which they can afford. Of course, not everything that socialism brings with it will be positive but not everything that capitalism brings with it is positive either along with many other political, economic and social systems.
Socialism is not for everyone and one cannot decide whether it is a good idea or not unless the other side of it is seen. Along with equality, low-cost living, low-cost education, and healthcare socialism also bring along higher taxes, and full government control. In a socialist society, higher taxes are necessary to bring along free higher education and free healthcare for all. The people who would have higher tax rates than those who earn substantially less. This would not be a problem as the money people will have left over from their taxes will be more than enough to continue living their daily lives. Although higher taxes might not be that big of an issue giving the government control of a large portion of our lives might be. This gives people less of a choice of deciding what healthcare they want, or where to even live. This being said, all aspects of socialism are not for most people but some of the aspects might be.
Not every aspect of socialism should be inserted into the daily lives of citizens in the United States but some should be, one being low cost if not free health insurance. Giving the people free health insurance can benefit the people greatly. Other countries have already done so such as Britain, Switzerland, and France. The healthcare system in Britain finances care and provides it through the National Health Service. The coverage received to its citizens is very broad while many of the services provided are free. The system is financed through about 10 percent of their gross domestic product (G. D. P) budget. The healthcare system in Britain also allows for quicker access than most countries which try to implement free or low-cost healthcare for all.
Switzerland requires all its citizens to have insurance whether bought or given to them by the government or jobs. Many of the people are charged on a sliding scale its government also spends about eleven percent of G. D. P. Switzerland offers its people plans based on non-profit and a for-profit basis. Depending on what the person chooses it allows them to have a wider choice of doctors but all the same the people of Switzerland are covered by health insurance.
France provides nonprofit funds for its citizens to receive health insurance which is backed by the taxes people pay. France spends about 11. 8 percent of G. D. P on its healthcare but its public insurance is able to cover about 70-80 percent of the costs. The rest is covered by voluntary health insurance given to them by their job and such if anything is left to pay then the cost is very low leaving the French with little to no money coming out of their pocket. If the United States were to follow the way France, Switzerland or even Britain established low cost or even free health insurance all of their citizens then it would be able to spend about 10-12 percent G. D. P on healthcare instead of the 17. 9 percent that it spends now on just 85 percent of the citizens that are insured now. These countries have done a fantastic job at implementing the socialist aspect of free/ low-cost healthcare for its citizens but they are among many who have done the same.
Strong social safety nets are of big importance when it comes to socialism, all people should be backed up by their government in case the worst happens such as them losing their job. Some of the services provided by social safety nets are welfare, unemployment benefits, healthcare, and sometimes homeless shelters. These services are put in place to prevent people from plunging into the abyss of poverty. Germany has many strong social safety nets in place to stop their citizens from poverty. In Germany, people have a retirement pension, free or almost fully free education including for college, and job security. The unemployment benefits last much longer than they do in the United States.
The U. S provides up to six months of unemployment benefits depending on the state some might offer less, versus Germany who provides twelve months and up to twenty-four months worth of benefits as long as the person worked at least a full year in the company which they left. In Germany, the individual who is unemployed will also receive 60 percent of their net salary. Going along with social safety nets when women get pregnant in Germany they are given fourteen months of paid leave to be with their newborn child while in the U. S most women get twelve weeks of unpaid leave. Here some women have to leave their jobs to take care of the child because they don’t earn enough to pay for childcare but in Germany, women could take those 14 months to save up for future child care and spend precious time with the newborn. In the united states, we have many of the same things as Germany but they are extended over there. Here people fall and have to hoist themselves back or as for help back up, in Germany, they fall and their government catches them and helps them back up.
Socialism might be seen as a gateway towards communism but that is only if the people allow it to be. I am not stating that complete socialism is good but merely that certain features could have positive outcomes once applied to our society. Social safety nets could largely benefit the working class along with those recently laid off. Allowing people to not worry tremendously about medical bills would lead to more doctor visits and a healthier overall population. Socialism gives the middle and lower class a better chance to a higher quality life with less stress. Looking at countries such as France, Switzerland, and Germany we can see real results to the implementation of socialism.
